Fundamentals Of Cognitive Neuroscience Glossary - Set 2 - Sheet3

Question 1

Sequential grouping (seh-KWEN-shul GROOP-ing)

Answer 1

One way in which the human auditory system organizes sound into perceptually meaningful elements. If sound properties are repeated in the same sequence, they may be grouped together. For example, the sound properties of your friend’s voice may help you hear him speak in a noisy environment. See Chapter 5.

Question 2

Simultaneous grouping (SEYE-mul-TAY-nee-us GROOP-ing)

Answer 2

Latin simul ‘at the same time’ If two sounds have common onsets (beginnings) and offsets (endings), they may be grouped together. One way in which the human auditory system organizes sound into meaningful elements. See Chapter 5.

Question 3

Sleep disorder

Answer 3

The four most common types of sleep disorders, in order of their prevalence, are insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy. There are many more types of sleep disorders some estimates range to more than 80dhowever, these are the core disorders that affect many children and adults. Some are short lived, some are life long. All sleep disorders produce cognitive, emotional, and body-related impairments that can be very destructive to normal health and well-being. See Chapter 12.

Question 4

Sleep stages

Answer 4

Sleep falls into two general patterns: nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Within NREM sleep, there are IeIII or IeIV stages depending on whose theories you follow. Let us take the assumption that there are four NREM sleep stages. Sleep stages are sometimes labeled as stages 1e4 rather than IeIV. See Chapter 12.

Question 5

Slow-wave sleep (SWS)

Answer 5

is a nonrapid eye movement sleep stage in which brain functions and activity slow down markedly versus awake states. The EEG measures of brain waves during SWS show characteristic slow waves, thus the name of these sleep stages. See Chapter 12.

Question 6

Sound localization (SOUND lo-cal-ih-ZAY-shun)

Answer 6

Identifying the location of a sound, often based on binaural disparities of timing and loudness between the two ears. See interaural level difference, interaural time difference, and Chapter 5.

Question 7

Source memory (SORS MEM-ree or MEM-er-ee)

Answer 7

Memory for the specific time, place, and circumstances when an event was experienced. For example, you may remember not only when you learned about the theory of gravity (the memory) but also who first told you about it (the source). See Chapter 7.

Question 8

Spiking code (SPI-king CODE)

Answer 8

The rate and pattern of action potentials, which may transmit useful information in the brain. See Chapter 3.

Question 9

Stimulus-driven attention (STIM-u-lus DRI-vn a-TEN-shun)

Answer 9

The capture of attention by salient stimuli such as the sudden honking of a car horn or the crash of a glass breaking. See Chapter 8.

Question 10

Stroop test (STROOP test)

Answer 10

Named after American psychologist John Ridley Stroop, who first wrote about this phenomenon in English in 1935. When the name of a color, such as blue, green, or red, is printed in a color differing from that expressed by the word’s meaning (e.g., the word red is printed in blue ink), a subject has more difficulty naming the color of the word and is slower and more prone to errors than when the meaning of the word is congruent with its color. This phenomenon is known as the Stroop effect. To correctly name the color of the ink (e.g., ‘red’) rather than the word (e.g., ‘green’), the subject has to suppress the near automatic reading response to respond “red.” Variations of the Stroop task have been used to investigate many aspects of automatic processing. The Stroop effect is useful in activating conflict-related regions of the brain and generalizes well to related tasks, like the “emotional Stroop.”

Question 11

Superior (soo-PEER-ee-er)

Answer 11

Latin superior, comparative of superus ‘that is above,’ from super ‘above.’ Above. In the human brain, it is synonymous with dorsal.

Question 12

Supratemporal plane (SOO-pra-tem-per-el PLANE)

Answer 12

A flat region of cortex in the Sylvian fissure, where primary and secondary auditory cortex and parts of Wernicke’s area are located. See Chapters 5 and 6.

Question 13

Sylvian fissure (SIL-vee-en FISH-er)

Answer 13

Also called the lateral sulcus or lateral fissure. This prominent “valley” of the cortex divides the frontal lobe and parietal lobe above from the temporal lobe below. See Chapter 2.

Question 14

Synapse (SIN-aps)

Answer 14

Synapses are tiny gaps between neurons that communicate by way of chemical neurotransmitters. Synapses are a basic computational element of the brain, a kind of traffic control point for the flow of information. The brain has tens of billions of neurons, but it has many trillions of synapses. See Chapter 3.

Question 15

Synaptic cleft (sin-AP-tic CLEFT)

Answer 15

The space between two neurons that can communicate with each other via neurotransmitters. See Chapter 3.

Question 16

Synaptic pruning (sin-AP-tik PROO-ning)

Answer 16

The selective loss of synapses in the brain when some potential connections are not utilized. See Hebbian learning, neural Darwinism. See Chapter 14.

Question 17

Synaptogenesis (sin-AP-toe-GEN-eh-sis)

Answer 17

The birth of synapses in the brain. See Chapter 14.

Question 18

Syntactic analysis (sin-TAK-tik uh-NAL-ih-sus)

Answer 18

The identification of grammatical structures from words, phonemes, and morphemes. See Chapter 6.

Question 19

Syntax (sin-TAKS)

Answer 19

The rules and regularities of sentences in natural languages. See Chapter 6.

Question 20

Talairach coordinates (tal-AY-rahk co-ORE-din-etz)

Answer 20

A precise three-dimensional coordinate system for the human brain that can localize any point in the brain with millimeter precision. See Chapter 3.

Question 21

Temporal lobe (TEM-por-al lobe)

Answer 21

from Latin temporalis, from tempus, tempor- ‘time.’ The temporal lobes are parts of the cerebral cortex that are involved in visual perception, hearing and speech perception, and memory encoding and recall. They emerge from the sides of the cortex, beneath the lateral sulcus. In profile, if the human brain resembles a boxing glove, the temporal lobes would be the thumb of each side. The temporal lobe envelops the hippocampus and amygdala and is therefore involved in emotion and memory formation as well. The medial temporal lobe (most easily seen from the bottom perspective of the brain) is ancient paleocortex, including the olfactory cortex. See Chapter 2.

Question 22

Teratogen (ter-AT-e-jen)

Answer 22

A chemical or other factor (such as prescription or nonprescription drugs or cigarette smoke) that causes developmental malformations. See Chapter 14.

Question 23

Terminal (TER-mi-nul)

Answer 23

The distal end of an axon. See Chapter 2.

Question 24

Thalamocortical system (THAL-a-mo COR-ti-kel SIS-tem)

Answer 24

(from Greek thalamus chamber; Greek cortdbark) A central hub in the brain involving the cortex and thalamus, allowing signal traffic to flow flexibly back and forth in both directions. See Chapter 2.

Question 25

Thalamus (THAL-a-mus)

Answer 25

(from Greek thalamosdroom, chamber) A pair of symmetric egg-shaped structures in the brain that provide the main cortical input hub and cortico-cortical traffic hub. Plural: thalami.

Question 26

Theory of mind (THEE-eh-ree or THIR-ee of MIND)

Answer 26

The ability to attribute mental states beliefs, desires, intentions to others. See Chapter 10.

Question 27

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS; trans-CRAY-nee-el mag-NET-ic stim-yoo-LAY-shun)

Answer 27

A relatively noninvasive method using powerful electromagnets outside of the head to stimulate or inhibit cortical neurons. TMS shows good temporal and spatial resolution. See Chapter 3.

Question 28

Unconscious perception (un-CON-shus per-SEP-shun)

Answer 28

From Latin un (not) D conscious ‘knowing with others or in’ Sensory stimulus processing without awareness of the stimulus such as the sudden honing of a car horn or the crash of a glass breaking. See Chapter 8.

Question 29

Vegetative state

Answer 29

The vegetative state (VS) differs from the coma state in that there is wakeful unconsciousness. The wakefulness is exhibited by spontaneous eye opening. However, there is no evidence of awareness, language comprehension, visual gaze following despite the eyes opening occasionally, and only sporadic involuntary motor movement. When we open our eyes, observers see this as a sign that we are conscious. This differs in the VS, with levels of awareness that are low while levels of wakefulness relatively higher. Typically, a VS can last for 1-12 months following traumatic brain injury. Following that time window, VS may be considered permanent. See Chapter 13.

Question 30

Ventral (VEN-trel)

Answer 30

(from Latin venter the belly) The lower part of a brain structure, inferior.

Question 31

Ventricles (VEN-trik-lz)

Answer 31

Four small cavities in the brain containing circulating cerebrospinal fluid. The ventricular walls have been found to be sites for neural stem cells. See Chapter 2.

Question 32

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (ven-tro-MEE-dee-el pree-FRON-tal KOR-teks)

Answer 32

(Latin venter the belly; medialis in the middle) The bottom midline structures of the frontal lobe, especially in humans and other primates. This region, extending backward from the top of the nose, is involved in emotions, infant-mother bonding, fear, and risk in decision-making. See Chapter 9.

Question 33

Verbal rehearsal (VER-bel ree-HER-sel)

Answer 33

Mental repetition of words to be remembered, using the “inner speech” component of working memory. Inner speech involves a spontaneous commentary on current concerns, goals, and emotions.

Question 34

Vesicle (VES-i-cl)

Answer 34

(from Latin vesicula small bladder) The small bubbles filled with neurotransmitter molecules that travel through the axon to the synaptic terminals, where they fuse with the synaptic membrane to release neuromolecules into the cleft when an action potential occurs. Neurotransmitters then diffuse across the synapse to trigger depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane, ultimately leading to another axonal spike. Vesicles are essential for the propagation of signals between neurons and are constantly recreated by the cell.

Question 35

Visual agnosia (VI-zhoo-el ag-NO-zhe)

Answer 35

(from Greek agno-sia-lacking knowledge) A condition in which a person has difficulty recognizing objects because of damage to object-recognition regions of the cortex, such as the inferior temporal lobe. See Chapter 4.

Question 36

Visual backward masking (VI-zhoo-el BAK-werd MAS-king)

Answer 36

A conscious visual image can be “erased” by a subsequent visual event, such as a cross-hatch display, even though the conscious event is not physically blocked from reaching the retina.

Question 37

Visuospatial sketchpad (vizh-oo-oh-SPAY-shul SKECH-pad)

Answer 37

The ability to hold visual and spatial information momentarily in working memory.

Question 38

Volition (vuh-LI-shun)

Answer 38

From Latin volitio(n-), from volo ‘I wish.’ Voluntary control of actions, as contrasted with automatic control, as in the case of highly practiced habits. Many brain disorders involve a loss of voluntary control.

Question 39

Voxel (VAHX-ul)

Answer 39

A voxel is the smallest unit imaged using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The actual size of a voxel varies depending upon factors such as the resolution of the MRI scanner, the size of the brain being scanned, and the brain region being scanned. A typical voxel for a T1-weighted scan is about one cubic millimeter (mm3 ). If it is from the cortex, a single voxel may contain tens of thousands of neurons. See Chapter 3.

Question 40

Wearing, Clive (b. 1938)

Answer 40

A prominent British classical musician who suffered a viral brain infection in his forties that destroyed both hippocampi and some frontal lobe regions. Wearing’s case has become well known due to the efforts of his wife, Deborah Wearing, to raise public awareness of such medical conditions. Wearing lives in a single, blindered moment, without the ability to store information for later recall. Despite his memory problems, he is still able to play the piano and conduct musical pieces he knew well before the brain injury. See anterograde amnesia.

Question 41

Wernicke, Carl (1848-1905)

Answer 41

German physician and discoverer of a selective cortical region for speech comprehension. This region is now referred to as Wernicke’s area, and the associated deficit is known as Wernicke’s or receptive aphasia. Patients with this deficit cannot understand speech, including their own, but produce fluent sounding (but not usually meaningful) speech.

Question 42

Wernicke’s area (WER-nik-ees AIR-ee-a)

Answer 42

An area of the upper posterior temporal lobe that is needed for language comprehension. White matter In the brain, white matter consists of dense bundles of myelinated axons, which connect various gray matter areas of the brain to each other. White matter is named for the appearance or massive numbers of myelinated nerve axons, which appear to form the visible core of brain structure. See Chapter 2.

Question 43

Working memory (WUR-king MEM-ree or MEM-er-ee)

Answer 43

A cognitive capacity for storing and manipulating novel information over 10-30 s. Working memory includes central executive, working storage, verbal rehearsal, and the visuospatial sketchpad. See Chapter 7.